Livonia System
Because of rising sea levels on Earth in the 23rd century, many people from the Baltic coast were given sponsored passage to a new colony in the aptly-named Livonia system. Unfortunately for them, a Coalition fleet had arrived quite literally the day before and named the system Sîkûht, which would be the spark of a conflict that has lasted to the present day. The Livonia system has only one habitable planet, named New Courland by Earth surveyors and Prazgar-ôv-Sîkûht (informally referred to as just Prazgar) by the Tarsins. There are two Saturn-sized gas giants and and one asteroid field of note. Climate Like most of the habitable planets left behind by the Old Coalition to terraform themselves, New Courland was supposed to develop a Tarsis-like environment, similar to that of Earth at the last glacial maximum. However, because of unforeseen circumstances, New Courland turned into a colder and wetter planet than expected. Upon its discovery by the two rivals in the 23rd century, the most temperate areas were within the latitudinal tropics, while the northern and southern reaches were quite close to Siberia, Alaska, and Canada. Because of the haste of which the planet was settled, Coalition officials had no time to observe if the planet's climate was stabilized or not. By the 29th century, it was apparent that the climate was not yet stable and the world had been colonized as much as a millennium too early. But it was too late, and the climate change would play a large role in fueling the ethnic conflict between Tarsin and Earthman. Economy New Courland was not an industrialized planet at any point during Tarsin rule. Instead, the Tarsin guild system and feudal structure was implemented where possible, and an agrarian trade economy based on local markets emerged. Imperial tithes were paid in regular expeditions of the planetary army to distant fronts. When the Republic of New Courland was declared in the late 2800s, the process of industrialization began, and the planet was integrated into the wider galactic economy. Work is ongoing, and the traditional agrarian way of life is very persistent. Culture Six centuries of Tarsin rule and several major migrations have left their mark on New Courland's culture. The original Earthmen settlers were of north German, Polish, Lithuanian, and Latvian stock, and brought their languages, cultures, and love of democracy with them. They were named the Wends by the Tarsins, despite the Wendish people long being extinct on Earth. Popular legend holds that this was done as a show of power. The Tarsin settlers all came from a poor and frequently maligned backwater world of Thîela, they were a very traditional and tightly-knit society. In the early 26th century, volcanic activity on a nearby Earth-settled colony forced a mass exodus of South American-descended people to New Courland. The newcomers were named Perus, even though only ten percent of them descended from Peruvian ancestors. The second migration came in the year 2583, with the arrival of several Tarsin highlander clans from arid planet of Althûnô; their lord had been given the title Baron of Prazgar on the death of the native lord. The final migration was the arrival of Scandinavians from Earth itself, who felt that their old home was finally too small for them. The Wends, Perus, and Scands were the three main groups of Earthmen, forming the main block of commoners on the planet Prazgar. There was a second class of commoners as well, who called themselves the Thîelâ of Prazgar; Tarsin lowlander peasants. However, on account of their blood, they were often placed above the Earthmen. At the top of the pyramid sat the highlander Tarsin families, whom the Earthmen named Althûnites (something of a revenge for the naming of the Wends). Three very different cultures emerged: a diverse, multi-ethnic melting pot of Earthmen; the very religious, traditional Thîelâ; and the Althûnite aristocracy, who had to somehow balance both. In later days, historians would say peace was never an option. History 2291-2506, Initial Settlements In 2291, both an Earth and a Coalition fleet showed up to claim the planet, at roughly the same time. The Earth fleet consisted mostly of obsolete cruisers and patrol ships, as they had not expected enemy forces in the area. Faced with the superior firepower of the Tarsin ships, they surrendered in return for their three million civilian passengers to be permitted to settle on the planet they called New Courland. The Tarsins told them it was actually called Prazgar-ôv-Sîkûht, and that their people must swear fealty to the Emperor of the Coalition, but otherwise would be left alone. True enough to their word, the original so-called Wends were allowed to settle freely in their chosen lands and make their own forms of government, so long as they were loyal to the new Baron of Prazgar. The Wends landed within the temperate areas below the tropics, while the one million Tarsins accepted the less desirable northern steppes and tundra, which were straddled by three great rivers. This was the most peaceful time of the planet's history. When the Kingdom of Sôl was created in 2470, the Baron of Prazgar and the leading men of the Wends made the journey to Earth to pledge allegiance to him. 2506-2647, Migrations In 2506, the so-called Perus came to Prazgar, victims of a massive amount of eruptions on their planet. Because of the ensuing volcanic winter, the King Aitharîôs of Sôl moved them to Prazgar, the nearest inhabitable world. The Tarsins were skeptical of such a mass immigration, over twenty million in number, but the Perus settled right on the equator, quite far from the Thîelâ and their cold steppes. Later that century, in 2583, the ruling Thîelâ Baron died without issue. King Vedôs of Sôl asked the Emperor for a proper highland family to step in, Althûnô was chosen to provide the new stock. Unfortunately, the Emperor had been misinformed; while Althûnô was a dry and arid planet, Prazgar was wet and cold. The ten thousand Althûnites arrived and were quite surprised by what they found. However, they were adaptable, and each clan found its own place on Prazgar to call home, getting very close in with the Wends and Perus in some cases. The new Baron, of the house Sîanô, was much more hands-on than the previous regime; there was some discontent among the Earthmen which boiled over into the occasional local rebellion. In 2467, five million Scandinavians from Earth arrived, having accepted the King's offer of a more pristine home. The planet's population at this time was nearing one hundred million, about sixty percent in favor of the Earthmen. 2647-2811, the Middle Years Despite the bouts of unrest among the Earthmen, the Althûnite overlords were very keen on making Prazgar feel their mark, and years between their arrival and the overthrow of the Kingdom were times of great cultural achievements; the Althûnites making an impact very disproportionate to their tiny numbers. The aesthetics of Althûnô were directly imported in the beginning of their rule, but as the decades went by, they branched off into their own styles of architecture, clothing, music, art, and even food. By the 2800s, this had diffused into both the lowlander Tarsin and the Earthman cultures. Despite growing similarities, there were still great gulfs between them. The Tarsin's New Faith was the one accepted religion of Prazgar, it had working relations with most Christian and Buddhist sects, it denounced Hinduism and European neo-paganism as vile heathenry, and was as openly hostile to Islam as Islam was to it. None of this changed the fact that all had to pay a tax to the Althûnites in return for being left alone (an irony not lost on the small Muslim population). However, the notion of atheism was more offensive to the Althûnites and Thîelâ than any Earth religion; it was outlawed. This lack of religious freedom was one of the many sparks that repeatedly set off conflicts between the Earthmen and Tarsins. However, quite a few Earthmen converted, if not out of actual belief, at least for the social and economic benefits that came with accepting all life in the galaxy had been saved four thousand years ago by a slave woman's child, a travelling cleric, and an unruly warlord. The Earthmen who did convert often ended up serving as middle-men and functionaries for the Sîanô regime and more local Althûnite lords. There were social standings to consider as well. Earthmen were at the very bottom of the heirachy, lower than lowlanders even. Conversion offered a step up, but the stigma of being new to the Tarsin way would linger for generations. Althûnite law required that one must prove three generations of pure Tarsin descent to be considered for high office, travel to the Empire proper, ownership of land, and so on. Pure Tarsin descent was considered as being born into the New Faith, and speaking a Tarsin dialect as one's first language. Despite the lack of active encouragement of assimilation, there was still pressure on the Earthmen to give up their ways if they wanted to climb the hierarchy. Resentment only built up among those who refused to go over to the occupying side. It was around the 2700s that the climate began to make signs of changing. The cold and wet weather, ever so slowly, became warmer and drier. Summers lasted a bit longer, winters were a bit less harsh. No one paid any mind until an Archive surveyor team finally put together a comprehensive study of the past few centuries on Prazgar. The climate was indeed shifting. In 2793, the southernmost permafrost thawed in the spring, much to the rejoicing of locals. But the deserts of the planet began to expand as well. The lands most affected by increasing desertification and drought were those of the Scands, who blamed the Tarsin government for not doing anything to stop it. While times were tough on uncooperative Earthmen, those who played by the rules found prosperity. Even without converting, Earthmen often worked with Tarsins for mutual benefit, with prosperity coming to both parties. Wends, Perus, and Scands alike could pool resources and funds, approach a Tarsin with a deal, and work out a system where he used his privileges to put their goods to work. It was common for craftsmen, artisans, merchants, and so forth to pledge themselves to a Tarsin guild or lord. But this solution only worked for those who were willing to kneel, and the Earthmen had a history of refusing to kneel. 2811-2901, the Freedom War 2811 was the year of contact between MAOX agents and rebellious elements on Earth. Over the next few decades, the unrest flared into revolts, revolts flared into revolution, and revolution flared into a full-scale civil war, right down ethnic lines. Central authority in the Kingdom of Sôl disintegrated as world after world overthrew their Tarsin regimes; some with MAOX support, and some without. A child Emperor on Tarsis only added to the problems. For a while, Prazgar was quiet, but the kind and aged Baron Hâlenôs Sîanô opened his planet to refugees fleeing those worlds that were undergoing civil war. This proved to be a very bad mistake for the Tarsins, as the Earthmen already outnumbered the Tarsins five to one. With the influx of refugees, almost all Earthmen, that ratio became seven to one. An organization known as the New Courland Liberation Front sprang up in the 2850s, making occasional terrorist attacks against Tarsin garrisons and collaborators. The King of Sôl and his family were executed in 2867, and the Earth Alliance was declared as the successor state to the Kingdom. The civil wars on other planets became even more intense; the Althûnites of Prazgar watched in horror as their cousins elsewhere were butchered in repayment for centuries of oppression. The Thîelâ lowlanders just prepared for war, as did the Earthmen. Baron Azithîrîôs Sîanô replaced his father, and the change in policy was swift. Demonstrations were broken up, protests dispersed, raids on armories made; anything to put off what the Tarsins knew was coming. But it was too late. In 2884, the civil war began when the New Courland Liberation Front made a surprise attack on the biggest city. They found only support within it, as it was a mostly Wend city. The NCLF declared the independence of the New Courland Republic from the Sîanô regime, making sure to note that the Baron had the same name as the infamous and centuries-dead Zaian leader Azithîr, who had brought much woe upon the UNE. The freedom war of New Courland was as brutal as any other waged in those years. Outnumbered seven to one, it didn't take the Tarsin planetary army to be reduced to the point where increasingly severe conscription was needed to replace losses. In 2995, there was not a single Tarsin family left who had not lost a son, a brother, a father, or an uncle to the war. The Earthman had the luxury of numbers, but were fighting against a foe that had total air superiority, as well as a monopoly on armor and mechanization. The NCLF advanced was halted, and the war turned into a bloody stalemate for twelve years. The Earthman couldn't be driven back, but they didn't have the ability to push past the heavily-fortified Tarsin defenses either. But when MAOX agents made contact with the rebels, it was only a few more months until they finally broke through into the Tarsin-populated regions above the tropics, which they called Stafîd ôv-Azad-Rakâth: the Land of the Three Rivers. In this late decade of the 29th century, the climate change had turned what was once steppe and tundra into vibrant grasslands and forests, far richer than what the original Tarsins had settled on hundreds of years ago. Compared to their increasingly uninhabitable homes, the Scands particularly were hostile to the Tarsin people. Any of the Althûnite families captured by the NCLF usually ended up dead, despite standing orders from Earth to treat the defeated with civility. As the MAOX-armed liberation front drove ever closer to the Tarsin capital of Arôtol, resistance increased to the fanatical level. It would later be revealed that the Tarsins thought that they would be slaughtered wholesale if they were defeated, something that had happened on other planets already. The final battle of the war saw the total destruction of Arôtol, the city was wiped clean off the map and organized Tarsin resistance crumbled within days. On May 9th of 2901, Baron Azithîrîôs Sîanô signed the instruments of surrender. The New Courland Republic was now the one sovereign entity on the planet. 2901-3001, Tensions Intensify There was no mass culling of Tarsins after the war, not on the same scale as on other planets. MAOX and Earth Alliance troops that had arrived in the last year of the war were far more professional than the NCLF troops, left bitter towards their enemy after seventeen years of fighting. However, the Tarsin population had been reduced even further, leaving them outnumbered by Earthmen one to ten by 2901. The EA-brokered peace treaty was quite fair, it left all of the Stafîd ôv-Azad-Rakâth in Tarsin hands, as that was the original agreement by original settlers. The Sîanô family were allowed to retain their properties and wealth, along with all the other Althûnites in the north; but the belongings of Althûnites in the Earthmen lands were given over to the New Courland Republic for re-distribution. All guild arrangements were broken, and the free market implemented. Emigration was allowed, as was industrialization, and the use of advanced technology like cybernetics and artificial intelligence. Religious freedom was granted for the first time since the arrival of the Althûnites, the tax on those outside the New Faith was obviously done away with. This deal represented well the growing political maturity of the Earth Alliance, and was similar to the agreements that ended other freedom wars in the late 29th and early 30th centuries. It was a far cry from the terrible genocides that the early freedom wars ended in. Because the New Courland Republic agreed to leave the Tarsins in peace, the Tarsins saw no reason to carry on fighting. There had been fears among the Earthmen of an unstoppable insurgency, but it never materialized. The Tarsins laid down their weapons and went back to their lives to rebuild and repopulate. But the troubles were far from over. The Scands felt cheated by the peace deal, as their lands continued to dry up, and they were forced to import massive amounts of water from first the Wends, and then the Tarsins too. The loss of guild agreements damaged the economy of the Perus, who struggled to compete with the Wends and Scands who had been less integrated into the old economy. Radicalization took hold in the Republic early on, with the Perus at one end of the spectrum and the Scands at the other, the Wends stuck between. The Tarsins refused to take part in the Republic at first, which was another mistake of theirs. With none of the Tarsin seats of the senate filled by Tarsins, the Scands were able to push legislation which cut the costs of their imported water dramatically, to the detriment of the importers. The next election saw the emergence of the Tarsin Nationalist Party of Prazgar, a front for the Althûnite families to hold onto political power. Earth Alliance observers reported that the local lords just told their peasants who to vote for and when, and the peasants went along quite willingly. A struggle emerged in the political sphere; the Scands leaned far to the left, the Tarsins far to the right, with the Wends and Perus usually going with whichever side suited their interest best. Despite a surge in birthrate at the end of the war, the Tarsins were still only eighteen percent of the population, and relied on sympathetic Earthmen to aid their causes; usually their old Peru associates. For seventy years, a political free for all went on. The main parties to emerge from the chaos was the New Courland Liberation Front, now staunch social democrats, the Constitutionalists, who believed the less government the better, and the Tarsin Nationalists, who usually just voted with the Constitutionalists because it'd mean they got more free reign in their own lands. Other parties enjoyed brief flares of popularity, like the Free Water Party, but they faded out after a few years. Things changed with the passing of legislature which took power from the senate and gave it to the planetary governor, in 2972. The NCLF had long promised its constituents that there would be a re-negotiation of the peace treaty with the Tarsins. They also enjoyed more popularity than ever, after the Constitutionalist senators refused to condemn what the media called Tarsin racism, when it became public knowledge that the Tarsins still practiced their purity laws in their own lands. Karl Schwerer, at that time a freshman senator from the Wendish land, remarked that Tarsin affairs were best left to Tarsins. This was a polarizing moment, though the young senator didn't know it. Any who agreed with him would find themselves on the Constitutionalist side, those who didn't ended up with the NCLF. And since the NCLF appealed more to the youths of the planet, with welfare and healthcare programs and a strong sense of morality, they had the voting power. In 2976, the sleeping conflict was sparked again. Climate change was entering its final phase, the Scandish lands were becoming increasingly nonviable for living. The (NCLF) governor used his new powers to issue and executive order to give free homes in the Land of the Three Rivers to Earthmen most affected by desertification. While the Tarsin Nationalist Party could only rage impotently in the senate, the Thîelâ lowlanders who had just received new neighbors got busy. By the year's end, an armed resistance had begun. Its actions were sporadic and usually ineffective, but the war had returned. This action proved popular among Earthmen, though. Another program brought over two million Earthmen into the Tarsin region. The Althûnite lords secretly sent some of their own back to the Empire to seek help from their former master, and returned with privately-bought weapons and volunteers. The Tarsin resistance grew in strength and ability. Terror attacks were made against both the police and new Earthman settlers. In 2991, newly-elected Governor Elen Rosengård, a Scand of the NCLF, used the acts of terrorism as an excuse to implement what she called the "Fair Deal" program. The Fair Deal re-assigned Tarsin lands belonging to owners suspected of being linked to terrorism to any Earthman who felt displaced by the climate change the Tarsin regime had failed to do anything about. Throughout the 2990s, Tarsins were forcibly removed from their homes and replaced by new settlers of Earth descent. In 2995, an evicted Althûnite lord named Rashan-Hadûl announced that he had traveled to Tarsis itself and received permission to wage holy war on New Courland Republic. With more than 40% of Tarsin lands now holding significant Earthman minorities, his call to arms fell on willing ears. So began the resistance group that came to be called Hizîr thî-Stafîd ôv-Azad-Rakâth: the Holy War in the Land of the Three Rivers. This group struck hard and fast, against both civilian, police, and military targets. Their ability to organize a professional strike and disappear into the night lead many in the New Courland government to believe that these fighters were either trained by the Tarsin Empire, or were led by Kaiahizîn (Tarsin holy warriors) who had fought on other planets. Rashan-Hadûl was a shadowy individual, and proved impossible to find by both the New Courland police and the Tarsin authorities, not that the latter made any more than a token effort to stop him. Hizîr thî-Stafîd ôv-Azad-Rakâth made an organized campaign of violence and terror against the Earthman immigrants, but the government moved in a quarter of a million Earthmen each year, many of them now off-worlders who had no idea what they were getting into. Governor Rosengård increased military presence, but the Kaiahizîn responded by escalating their attacks against the civilian Earthmen, many of which were not even native to the planet. Mass shootings, bombings, and night raids on homes of officials threw the region into a state of emergency. Heranôs Sîanô, de facto secular leader of the Tarsin population, only said that the fighters ought to go after the lawmakers instead of settlers. They promptly did, staging an attack deep in the Scandish lands, which killed three NCLF senators at a fundraiser. Martial law was declared in many parts of the regions, while the Tarsins were restricted from moving from their local areas, with New Courland police liaisons deployed to all their cities and towns. This only increased anger at the government, and Hizîr thî-Stafîd ôv-Azad-Rakâth continued to make attacks outside of the Tarsin lands, as often as once a week. The Tarsins made it clear why this was happening. "Why should we accept these invaders, who do not speak our language nor follow our God, and have no intention to?" Heranôs Sîanô asked to the media at a press conference. "Who gave Rosengård the right to push these outsiders on us? This is our ancestral homeland, not theirs. They came here by choice, if they die by the swords of my less-patient brothers, so be it." His remarks caused an uproar among the Earth population, but were backed up by Karl Schwerer, who said that anyone moving into those areas was aware of the risks. By 3000, Governor Rosengård was preparing to run for a third time in office, promising that she would deal with the Tarsin question once and for all. Senator Karl Schwerer, now 78 years old, finally made a bid for the governorship, revealing that he had met with the elusive Rashan-Hadûl, who promised peace as long as the Fair Deal was reversed and the status of the Land of the Three Rivers returned to the 2901 peace treaty. The sides were set, the pieces in motion. Only the election of February 3001 would tell the fate of New Courland.